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I believe this is the first(and currently only) piston filler in Gama's lineup. The cap, barrel, section and the blind cap are made of ebonite and are well done. The piston mechanism is similar to that of the Click president. The nib is a standard Gama no.35 (i went with the 0.65mm tip for general writing, as that's what I'll be using it for) the piston mechanism isn't the smoothest in my collection, it does get stuck in between and requires a little persuasion for it to go all the way up, and I wished they'd have put some grease on the mechanism. Hopefully it'll get smoother after the break in period, but it works and holds approx. 1.75ml of ink. Overall, for around 3500 rupees (which is what they're asking on their website), I'd say skip this and buy some of their eyedropper pens instead. The Gama Eagle in Olive ebontie The pen has a black cap section and blind cap made of ebonite and a transparent acrylic window. It's actually a normal sized pen, here it is with a Beena Lincoln, airmail 71JT and a Kanwrite Desire Writing sample. The feathering was because the pen was freshly inked and was a tad too wet. Plus the ink used is a bit on the thinner side. Hope this helps.

I recently spent a few hours working on my good ole' ebonite Noodlers Konrad. I hadn't used this pen for quite a while and wanted to spice things up a bit. The changes I made (and highly recommend) are as follows: 1) the "easy my flex" mod, were you grind a portion off the sides of the nib as seen in the picture. 2) I doubled the depth/width of the feed channel, which managed to eliminate almost all railroading except on very aggressive downstrokes. and 3) I reground the tip to an XXXF needlepoint. I don't know how to measure the actual degree of fineness I achieved with this grind, but ill tell you it is so sharp that I may just use it to sew some new underpants. I don't by any means consider myself an experienced nib-alter-er-er, but it wasn't too difficult to shave the sides and smooth the tip with 8000, 12000 and 16000 grit polishing sandpaper. Anyways, here are some pictures of my work (and first attempt calligraphy); please comment if you have any questions, suggestions or have tried the same thing during your nib-related adventures. Enjoy.

A friend gave me a vintage music nib to see if I could make it fit the Ahab/Konrad. The conversion attempt was successful; I really only had to cut a bit off the nib base (to allow the cap to fit over the nib) since the rest of the nib fit the feed just fine. I wrote with it, had fun, but decided I probably would not use it. I sent it back, with thanks. After it was in the mail, I felt sender's remorse *smiles*. So, I set out to see if I could duplicate the music nib experience by converting a standard, stiff italic nib into a flexible italic nib. I converted a stiff, Goulet 1.1mm stub italic nib to a flexible italic nib using the same procedure outlined in my thread "Converting A Regular Nib Into A Flex Nib For Noodler's Ahab/Konrad". Briefly, I extended the slit of the nib using a Dremel cutoff wheel, and then ground the sides of the nib following Pterodactylus' Ease My Flex mod. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/260041-converting-a-regular-nib-into-a-flex-nib-for-noodlers-ahabkonrad/ https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/240492-noodlers-ahab-ease-my-flex-mod/ http://www.gouletpens.com/Goulet_1_1mm_Stub_Italic_6_Steel_Nib_p/gpc-nib6-ps-11.htm The nib became very flexible, and will lay down a nice wide line when flexed. The width difference between the thins and thicks for the unmodified, stiff italic nib is about 2.4x, while the width difference for the flexible italic nib is about 7x. The pen gobbles ink. As you can see from my writing sample (comparing pointed flex, regular italic, and flex italic), flex italic writing lays down Lots more ink than the other styles. In addition, the modified nib writes very wet - the inked line displays a convex cross-section before drying, even when un-flexed. The wet line shows little shading; 50% dilution of the ink improved the shading, as seen on the second writing sample page. Noodler's Cactus Gruen Eel lays a wet line in my other pens and nibs, so I am not sure if the wetness of this nib is due to the conversion process, or the ink. I suspect the nib has something to do with it, as this nib's lines are Very wet. More testing will be done :-) Since this pen gobbles ink, unless I wrote Real Slow, I would draw down the ink in the ink channel so fast that the tip would go dry, usually railroading first. This high rate of ink consumption meant that I had to modify the ebonite feed to boost the ink supply. First, I connected all the fin's "canyons" to the ink channel. I cut away the factory “dam” between the fins on the right side of the feed, using a razor saw. Noodler's pens come with half the canyons not connected, to allow the user to modify the feed for their ink, paper, and style of writing. I found that even connecting all the right-side canyons to the ink channel was insufficient - the pen would write, but would exhaust the ink supply very quickly. I could see ink in the fins, but it was not refilling the ink channel on the top of the feed. One nice thing about the slot conversion: you can see what the ink in the ink channel is doing :-) Further investigation with a loupe found the cause: the canyons, as milled by the pen factory, don't actually reach the bottom of the ink channel. The canyons are cut shallow, leaving "hanging valleys" for those of you who studied geology. As a result, once the ink level in the ink channel drops below the base of the canyon, capillary action can no longer pull ink from the canyon across into the ink channel. Thus, the nib runs dry, and won't be resupplied by the canyons. (See diagram - black=ebonite, green=ink, red=#11 blade cut) To fix this problem, I made a cut in eight canyons on the right side with an Exacto #11 blade (red section on drawing). This allowed the canyon ink to reach the bottom of the ink channel; it was no longer disconnected from the ink in the channel, even if the ink level fell to the bottom of the channel. The cut is just a knife blade slit, I did not remove (with a razor saw) all the ebonite that made the hanging valley problem in the first place. This is because I don't know if the hanging valleys provide some other positive factor in the feed design. With this modification of 8 of the hanging valleys, I can now write 70-90 italic letters (or 40-50 letters of cursive) before exhausting the ink channel and its fin&canyon ink supply. Then, I can either wait for the channel to refill naturally, or make a small push of the piston plunger to recharge the feed and channel immediately. I did not cut all the canyons with the #11 blade. I was concerned that if I cut them all, the feed would become too wet for the other nibs I have. If I really get into flex italic writing, I might dedicate this pen to that style, and cut the "hanging valleys" of the rest of the canyons. Hopefully this would allow even longer writing stints before exhausting the feed. Conclusion- Positives: The nib works, it flexes easily, and is fun to use. Storing pen vertically with nib-down, and cap off, did not lead to ink dropping from nib after 11 minutes. So, pen is safe to hold vertically while pondering your next sentence. But I'd still store the pen nib-up when you are done. Negatives: The feed can't keep up with long stints of writing, and must be manually recharged with the plunger if you don't want to wait for natural recharge. Further modification of the feed is possible, but might result in a feed that only works with this nib. The nib writes very wet, which will prove a problem if you have cheap paper. Dilution of the ink will increase shading. But, dilution of the ink’s surfactant may reduce the max line width the ink can handle (ie. reduce max flex), and may reduce the speed of natural recharge of the feed. Refinements for the next conversion: I will reduce the flex a little by not taking as much off the sides (less EMF mod). This nib is almost a wet noodle, and a little more stiffness would be welcome. ============== Photos/diagram 1.Comparison of pointed flex nib, regular italic nib, and flexible italic nib. Note; the flex italic was written with un-diluted ink. 2. Flex italic with 50% dilution ink to increase shading. 3. Cross section of the black ebonite feed, showing the failure of green ink in the fin/canyons to flow into the ink channel when the channel ink level drops below the bottom of the canyon. Red section is placement of the #11 blade cut. 4. The converted nib. It fit loose in my Ahab, so I added a piece of masking tape to the top of the nib as a shim.

I have a Noodler's Konrad in Pequod's Smoke demonstrator. And I have a serious love-hate relationship with this pen. On the one hand, I absolutely LOVE its form factor -- girth, length, weight, section shape, ink capacity, barrel diameter, the #6 nib -- I dearly love every one of these things about it. I own no pen better suited to my hand and my writing. But I never use it. In just a few hours, it will dry out so hard that I must dunk the nib in water to get it to write, even when capped. I know I'm not the only one with this problem, and I've never seen any suggested remedy for it. (If you have, please oh please let me know. I'll probably also get a few more.) So I ask, what pens out there are similar to the Konrad in form factor and weight, but without the drying-out issue? Extra length would not hurt anything, IMO. But don't suggest a Monteverde Intima; there are issues with the finish flaking off the base-metal section. There are two reviews for the Glacier Blue mentioning this, posted one and three months ago.

Over a realtively short period of time, I've purchased a number of Noodler's pens. Almost all are Ahabs with one Neponset in ebonite as are the Boston Safety Pens but more about them some other time. However, rapidly becoming clear favourites are the ebonite Konrad pens, named by Nathan 'Dixie #10'. I just love these pens (and I confess, the wonderful aroma of ebonite!) and this is just a brief review/comment. Many of you will be familiar with the Konrad et al, and the nib is the same as the Ahab. Further details are all over this site too. Currently available in one colour 'Red Rebellion' (I got mine from Pure Pens in the UK) each one is an individual. This is down to the manufacturing process and colouring of the ebonite. I believe there was another colour - similar to the Chestnut BSP - but Ross hasn't had any and even Goulet are not showing any stock. They are simple piston-fillers with a blind cap covering the filler knob. The picture above shows this removed on the right-hand pen and this particular one is a (poor!) example of one of the other sorts of finish in the ebonite that can be expected. Basically, the pens are either mainly black or mainly red, both with really attractive marbling in black. I've not removed the nib and feed on any of mine, simply because there has been no need. They all write perfectly for me, straight out of the boxes. Almost certainly, the user can adjust the nibe with the same simplicity as on Ahab pens. Incidentally, the one acrylic Konrad I've got behaves in exactly the same way - the colours are just somewhat brighter! Lastly, the piston mechanism can be removed - carefully but intentionally - by removing the blind cap and then gently unscrewing the unit by gripping it just above the top of the barrel. This would be the way to apply a little more silicone to the piston etc IF required. All in all, I'm really pleased with these pens. The ones pictured are filled with Noodler's Air Corps Blue Black (writing example) and Noodler's Walnut in the other. Borealis Black in another is an absolute dream to write with - so smooth - an loads of different papers. Well worth the expense and I reckon they are great value for money. And as the festive day is almost upon us, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy & Healthy New Year. And may I leave you with a few pertinent alterations to a well-known Christmas song: On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true-love gave to me... 12 Diaries Planning 11 Papers Bleeding 10 Nibs a’Skipping 9 Bottles Leaking 8 Tines mis-Lining 7 Swans a’Filling 6 LE Specials 5 Golden Inks 4 Calling Cards 3 French Pens 2 Turkish Seals And a dip-pen that is out of warranty!

Forgive me if I'm repeating a topic here, but I couldn't find anything with the search function. I have a Noodler's Ebonite Konrad that I really enjoy. Up until now I've been using it with the flex nib, but today I decided to try swapping it out with a Goulet #6 Medium. The swap and heat setting went well, but the pen is now an absolute gusher. It writes more like a broad and puts down enough ink to puddle. I inked up with Asa Gao, which I know is a wetter ink, but even so it seemed extreme. Is this a problem with the nib, or the feed? Is it because the feed was intended for use with a flex nib? I generally like broader nibs, but this is a little much even for me. I have to write very quickly to avoid puddles. Is there anything I can do to fix this? I can always go back to the flex nib, but if there's a way to make the Jowo nib work, I'd be glad.

Those of us who are fans of Noodler's for whatever reason have probably seen the YouTube video on how durable Noodler's pens are. If not, it starts out with Nathan Tardif getting into a vehicle and running over a Charlie eyedropper pen and a clear demonstrator Konrad rollerball pen. First on bare ground, then on wet asphalt. He then proceeds to fire another set of said pens from a 10ga over-under shotgun (according to Nathan, it's not something you can legally get away with anymore...). Here's a link to the video: Now, what this tells me at 4am is that the Konrad appears durable enough to clip to a hip pocket of a pair of jeans and carry that way throughout a typical day. I normally carry a Tuffwriter Precision Press aluminum pen in that same position and have had only occasional problems with the mechanism being activated as I move about. The Precision Press is a clicky-type ballpoint/rollerball/gel writer depending on what refill you use, and sometimes mine ends up being in the 'clicked' position when I remove it from my pocket. The tip of the pen also tends to start unscrewing a bit as well. I blame that on the 3 small o-rings on the front part of the pan, myself. What this boils down to is a question, of course. Would a Konrad rollerball be able to withstand the abuse of being clipped to a hip pocket and basically sat on during a normal day? I'd hate to find out the hard way that my pen cracked and leaked a pen's worth of ink all over my pants.

Noodler’s Konrad 1820 Essex- Long Term Review As some of you may remember, back in June I posted the following thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/309845-earned-25-want-to-spend-it-on-a-new-pen/page-1 asking for advice on a pen purchase. In the end, I went with a Noodler’s Konrad in 1820 Essex, and I have used it as one of my main everyday writers since then. After five months of nearly daily use, I am finally ready to present my long-term opinions on the pen. ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Appearance & Design (8/10) – Classic semi-transparent design When I first received the Konrad in the mail, I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. The pen was slightly smaller than I had anticipated, slightly duller than I had anticipated, and slightly plainer than I had anticipated. But the design has grown on me. What I once saw as slightly dull I now see as understated elegance and beauty. The pen’s body is transparent, tinted the color of seafoam green. The cap and the blind cap are both an opaque white/sliver acrylic that gives the appearance of pearl. The clip is plain but sturdy and effective, stamped with “NOODLERS INK” and has the unique distinction of being in my opinion the best clip I’ve ever used. The nib is a plain looking steel nib, stamped with “NOODLERS INK CO” and with a slit running down all the way to the feed. The piston in the back of then pen is visible through the transparent body, in my opinion adding to the beauty of the pen. 2. Construction & Quality (9/10) – Solid all around, and an incredible Clip The Konrad is constructed almost entirely from acrylic, except for the clip, the small metal accent on the cap, the nib, and the ebonite feed. The papers that come with the pen claim the acrylic is biodegradable, but to me it feels like it’d last to the end of time. If I dropped my pen capped from any reasonable height, I wouldn’t be excessively concerned. It is well made and well-constructed, and feels sturdy enough. The clip warrants its own statement however. The clip is quite possibly the best clip on any fountain pen I’ve ever used. It isn’t the prettiest, it isn’t the shiniest, it isn’t the thickest, it isn’t the anything-est for that matter, but it just works. I use my pen clips quite often, and they are regularly clipped to the outside part of my pocket. This clip is the easiest to clip on, the easiest to grab off, the sturdiest, and the strongest-seeming clip I’ve ever had the -pleasure to use. The cap and blind cap both unscrew smoothly and easily, and the piston mechanism is smooth turning and feels sturdy. My one complaint about build quality would be that my pen had a quite noticeable imperfection in the acrylic in the cap of the pen, but it adds character to the design in the end and I’ve grown to like it. Another important thing to note is that the entire pen can be taken apart and put back together with no special tooling, making it a very easy pen to repair, service, or modify, should you ever need or want to. … 3. Weight & Dimensions (7/10) – Light, but not too light The pen weighs 15g capped and 11g without the cap, and in my opinion the experience feels most balanced when posted. The pen is on the light end, but not too light. It weighs around the same as a Pilot Custom 74, if that helps any of you picture it. … 4. Nib & Performance (10/10) – Wow. Just Wow. This is the part of the review where I go full on crazy. The nib on my Noodler’s Konrad is the best nib I have ever used. It is glassy smooth, lays down a wet yet controllable line, and, being a flex nib, has a ton of line variation. In terms of the line variation, I cannot claim to know what true vintage flex feels like, I can just say that the Konrad does it pretty gosh darn well. For the first two months or so, the nib was really only semi-flex, which is where I think a lot of the talk about the Noodler’s pens not being real flex comes from. After that however, I’ve been able to get consistent line variation with minimal pressure. The nib is truly a joy to write with. I should also say that upon arrival the nib was also not quite so smooth, and I adjusted it to my liking with micromesh and Mylar paper of 1.0 and 0.3 micron grits. The level of smoothness I get with my Konrad is paralleled in my experience only by complete nails, so to have the combination of the smoothness with exceptional line variation makes the Konrad something special. The ebonite feed keeps up with flow extremely well, and the pen writes with a consistent moderately wet flow, even when being flexed. I have heard complaints about inconsistent flow on other people’s Konrad’s, however, so if you do have flow issues I believe the best option would be to heat-set your feed. I have never had to do this with my Konrad, but it’s nice to know it’s an option if I ever have to thanks to the Ebonite feed. The nibs and feeds can both be easily replaced if you manage to mess them up, replacement flex nibs (tipped) are $5 and replacement feeds are $4. I would be wary to replace my nib, however, because as I said before it took about two months of daily use to truly “break in” the flex in the nib. … 5. Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) – Complete fill every time- worked like a charm for 4 months of daily use so far The Konrad is a piston filler, and has worked reliably for me through all four months I’ve been using this pen. The piston is a plastic nob under a blind cap at the back of the pen. One slight issue I found with the filler is that on a few occasions if I screwed the blind cap on too tightly I would unscrew the entire piston mechanism from the pen rather than the blind cap. The piston turns smoothly and comes pre-greased, but you can always add silicon grease to the piston threads if they ever become “squeaky”. … 6. Cost & Value (8/10) – Fairly cheap, but you might need to buy some stuff to go with it The pen costs $20, and is in my opinion well worth the price. It should be noted, however, that if you aren’t already slightly invested in the pen world it may not be worth the cost to you. For instance, if I didn’t have the micromesh and Mylar paper to smooth my nib, or the silicon grease to regrease my piston three months into use, I probably would not enjoy my pen as much as I do. These are not substantial costs, though, and many pen enthusiasts probably already have them around the house. … 7. Conclusion (8.5/10) – A great, unique pen at a great price, my new daily writer After using this pen for the past several months, I can say with great confidence that it will likely be my most used pen for many more months to come. I have prettier pens, I have more expensive pens, I have pens that feel slightly better in the hand, and I have pens with shiny golden nibs, but none of these pens compare to the simple pleasure that is the Noodler’s Konrad. It has the greatest nib I’ve ever had the pleasure to use, looks good, has great ink capacity, and is incredibly sturdy. What more could you want? All pictures are taken from www.gouletpens.com , the website where I purchased my Konrad. The shipping was quick, and the customer service was excellent. If you are considering the Konrad, I would highly recommend ordering from the Goulet’s.

Laying in bed, procrastinating, knowing I ought to be putting my pens and paper into boxes to be packed up for the new house, instead I chose to write out the attached review of the Noodler's Konrad Ebonite flex fountain pen. This is my first review so please be gentle. And remember, my handwriting is lousy but particularly so today because the paper's balanced on my knee, as I'm writing in bed. Having had and lost a couple of fountain pens a couple decades ago, my collection really started with this pen. Aside from a couple of inexpensive Jinhao pens, I didn't have any fountain pens until this Noodler's Konrad. And not knocking the Jinhaos, this was the first pen I bought with the intention of holding onto it, using it, and eventually passing it along to one of my children one day. A very, very long time from now. The ebonite Konrad, in my mind, is refined, elegant, with a restricted, pulled-in beauty. It's not glittery nor dazzling, it's completely unflamboyant, yet entirely gorgeous to me. The Dixie #10 Jade has a medium to dark green- about a Sherwood green, and black ebonite swirled together in a pretty rippled pattern on the barrel. It's got a black blind cap and black section. The section sits about 3/4 cm below the barrel, between which, a clear acrylic window sits, with which one can view the ink swishing around inside the pen. When one has shimmery gold particles swirling about amidst the ink, each time one catches a glimpse of the sparkle, it's a little bit of a day brightener. Even without the glitter, seeing ink ebb and flow across the window is an awesome sight. I guess that's why I like demonstrators so much. That's just not something normal people see everyday - inky pools rollicking about inside their pens. Unless one happens to be a member of The Fountain Pen Network, of course. The black ebonite cap has a silver clip with a little teardrop shaped ball on the end, kinda like if you took the quintessential Parker ball and smooshed it with your finger a little. It's proportioned nicely against the cap and the bottom silver cap ring. Under the blind cap is the knob you twist to fill the pen. Directly below the knob, flush against the distal end of the barrel, is the part where the piston unscrews from the rest of the pen. In theory, the pen can be taken apart and the inner workings of the piston given a full cleaning and lubricating if necessary. (I swear! I've seen it on YouTube so it must be true) But I have not been able to remove it, and am not interested enough to risk scratching my pen to try using more force than just my fingers. Perhaps one day, I'll grab a pair of section pliers from the spark plug aisle of the auto repair store, and give it a go. But cleaning the pen by removing the nib and feed has worked plenty well for me thusfar. And being able to remove the nib and feed is the best thing about the Noodler's Konrad. I am a tinkerer by nature and truly appreciate that Nathan Tardiff, the sole proprietor of Noodler's Inks (and pens) has released this pen with that in mind. The feed, being made of ebonite, can be carved for greater ink flow, heat set against the nib, for optimal flow, and replacement feeds can be easily and inexpensively purchased. The nib is a #6 size, which is also #35 by some manufacturer's nib sizing code, which means there's a plethora of other manufacturer's nibs available for experimenting. So far, I have only put in a dip pen nib, as that's actually what had drawn me back to fountain pens this time around, and it fits a Zebra G nib nicely, and because the feeds are available, I have a dedicated feed for when the pointed pen flex nib is installed, and for most other times, I have the regular #6 nib and regular feed in it. Since the section is also made of ebonite, that can be heated to really tighten down the nib and feed if necessary, but I'd say that's something for more advanced users, unlike playing around with carving the feed- anybody with the will to do it, can do. The only reason being is that replacement feeds are readily available. If the section gets really screwed up, well, that pen owner is also screwed. Speaking of being screwed, the price point does not screw you. It's a fantastic price, especially for a piston fill, especially for an ebonite piston fill. Did I miss anything? It's getting late and I should go pack at least 1 box up before getting up to start my day in ummmm, 2 hours. This accounts for the gradual drop in writing quality in this review, mind. Oh yes, the Konrad Ebonite fountain pen is 140mm capped, about 160mm posted and weighs a total of 18gm with the cap on and about 1/3 filled with ink. The paper used in the review is my favorite, Tomoe River 54gsm, and the wonderful ink is DeAtrementis Pearlescent in Heliogen Green with Gold sparkly bits. In my written review, I flexed the bleep out of the pen so the ink would really gush out for you guys. And in hindsight, I probably should have written in larger letters for that because the broad letters are terrible to read at that size. My apologies, but I did warn you, this is my first review. The second half of the review, I wrote more like I normally do, and the writing is a little bit more legible, if not very pretty. My new year's resolution this year is to improve my handwriting, and god willing, let us hope i don't have to make that same resolution next year, although at this rate, i may have to. Editorializing aside, i think I'm done. And I'll sign off with something I've been telling myself and rarely ever heed (do as i say, not as i do, hmm? Alrighty) ciao Choose your words wisely, because they are powerful and your word matters. EagleLobes Edited for ease of reading and some grammarly stuff

Hello, I recently got back in to fountain pens and have been conflicted as to my next fountain pen. My first pen was a crappy jinhao, which was quickly followed by some other unknown Chinese knockoff of a lamy, and then shortly by a borrowed blue-gold waterman expert (it's my mom's. I love writing with it but want my own pen because she'll get mad at me if I damage it because it was really expensive at the time and is no longer available). and before anyone says anything, I personally don't like the more inexpensive Lamys, I don't find them to be comfortable. More recently I have also tried out a rOtring 600 (currently discontinued) which I like, however the lack of a knurled grip on the model I have, the cap, and terrible balance when posted are huge put-offs. I have come down to a somewhat wide list and can't decide on what to get: The Noodler's Konrad (probably one of the ebonite or acrylic ones) The Kaweco Sport (basically any of them, but most likely one of the non-metal ones as they cost less) Any of TWSBI's pens (basically all of TWSBI's pens fit my criteria, however I can't pick one over the other) As you can clearly tell these are relatively inexpensive pens. I am a student right now, which is why these pens are all pretty inexpensive. I want to bring the pen around with me to my classes. I walk between all my classes up and down a 3-story building and it's pretty long. I store my pens more diagonally or horizontally when not in use (when they are in my bag, as my backpack rests at a diagonal angle across my back). I like to be able to post my pens, as it means I don't need to keep track of the cap as I don't like holding the cap in my other hand, however most times I post my fountain pens or someone else's I find it to be either unbalanced or just uncomfortable as the edge of the cap irritates the side of my hand (this is especially the case on the Waterman, where when I post it the edge of the cap digs into my hand slightly). in case it matters, I use purple/violet ink, currently I am using the J. Herbin scented Violet ink (I love this stuff), however I am considering switching to something like Waterman's Tender Purple or some other purple/violet ink (suggestions?) I really like the look and design of the Kaweco, but the use of a converter is a bit of a put-off as I would prefer I be able to fill it once and have it last me a while. I like the look and design of the Noodler's a lot too however I worry it may require fidgeting with which is something I really would rather not do (and if I don't like the flex nib I could always replace it with some other nib, but then I need to do that... Again with the fidgeting). And on the topic of the TWSBI pens, they basically all fit my criteria, they appear to be a safe bet but I can't pick one in particular (580 vs classic vs mini vs maybe the vac700 or vac mini) I just can't decide. Help would be very greatly appreciated.

I have 7 pens right now so I feel like I'm ready to try out a flex pen next. I want something cheap that I can play around with, without worrying too much about cost if something happens to go wrong - so I want to stick to one of the noodler's flex pens. I'm undecided between the nib creeper, ahab and konrad. I think I might be leaning more towards the ahab because it's got a bigger grip and I'm thinking would be more comfortable to hold while applying the needed pressure to flex. I know there's a lot of variance between all the pens, even within the same nib creeper, ahab and konrad families. But as my first one, any suggestions which is best?

Noodler's Coral Sea Konrad Flex is a pen I've been drooling over for months. It's finally back in stock at Goulet Pens and I grabbed one. It's breathtakingly beautiful. It will be my "pick-me-up" pen on tough days. I'd appreciate some suggestions of inks to go with this pen. I'm a big Noodler's fan but totally open to adventures into other brands as long as they are available in the U.S. Thanks folks!

Full review with pics here: http://thefrugalfountainpen.blogspot.com/2016/03/noodlers-10-dixie-rebellion-red-ripple.html I am a fan of Noodler's pens. They are affordable, well made, and a tinkerer's dream. They have their origins in India and I love Indian pens. They are easy to break down and clean and can be easily customized by just adding a new nib. I know that some people think they are finicky and temperamental, but I have found them to be very reliable once they are set up correctly. The object of this review is the #10 Dixie Rebellion Red Ripple Konrad. I would like to thank Luxury Brands (Noodler's distributor) for making this pen available for review. The #10 is a piston filler with a very simple mechanism. It is very easy to fill and it stores a fair amount of ink. This pen has an ebonite body with an acrylic ink window and is a very attractive medium-sized pen. The pen cap is solid-black, there is a silver colored band at the bottom of the cap and the body is figured reddish brown and black ebonite with a solid-black blind cap. The clip is also silver-colored and is quite stiff. The pen is about 5.5" long, the cap width is about 9/16" and the body is about 7/16" at its widest point. The grip section is about 3/8". It weighs only .6 oz. when filled with ink.As the pen is made of ebonite, it has a faint rubber smell. I found it warm and comfortable to hold and the cap posts securely and deeply. Out of the box, it was fitted with the #6 Noodler's fine medium-flex nib. In my writing tests, I found it to be a smooth writer with good ink flow. As with other Noodler's flex pens I have used, it requires quite a bit of pressure to get any line variation. If you write with normal pressure, you will get a uniform fine/medium line. I pulled the nib out slightly to make it flex a bit easier. However, if you want to flex a lot, you have to take it slow otherwise you will experience some railroading. The #10 Konrad has a lot of things I like in a pen: Nibs can be easily replaced with any #6 nib. Easy to disassemble for cleaning and maintenance. Piston filler mechanism. Holds plenty of ink. Machined ebonite feed. Great pen for the pen tinkerer. All in all, it is a wonderful value for an ebonite piston-filler.

Pen: Noodler's Konrad Appalachian Pearl Flex Pen Ink: J. Herbin Rouge Opera I bought this pen from Goulet Pens via 65daigou (mail forwarder) and it came in a crushed box. While using it, I encountered endless problems; the pen perpetually railroaded, no matter how slowly I wrote and in which orientation. It railroaded at the slightest amount of encouragement! I have flushed this pen before and it only barely improved the situation. ' Upon taking a closer look, I noticed the tines and nib shape were weird-looking... for those of you who also own Konrad Flexes, is this a normal thing or do I have to get this pen replaced/fixed? some photos....

Cheers, I just saw this video of Nathan's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R4FNBTKCQg, and it got me wondering, are the newer Konrads fitted with an inner cap? After minute 3:45 he clearly states that the shot 'forced the inner cap well over the section' Cheers

Very long detailed review with large image files. Consider thyself prepared. The disclaimer: no affiliation whatsoever. I requested and paid for this custom nib grind. This review is entirely my own opinion. YMMV. Etcetera. Photo: Drawing Totally amateur drawing with the Da Luz modded nib. (First ever drawing with a flex nib, go easy!) First Impressions After seeing Joseph Da Luz’s (FPN name: FPVIBERIAN) custom nib grind work on Noodler’s flex nibs, I wanted one. My expectations were that it would be a fun nib, but possibly not on par with my favourite vintage Conklin Crescent Toledo #2 Gold Nib. I was wrong. This Da Luz modded nib in a Noodler’s Konrad (acrylic) has now taken first place in my tiny fountain pen flex selection. If you’re looking for your entry-level Spencerian fountain pen with great flex and modern fittings – this is it. On arrival it was inspected, disassembled, flushed (it had been inked for nib trials), dried, then reassembled. I set the ebonite feed up in my usual position for a Konrad Acrylic – about 4mm back from the nib tip. I had wondered whether it would be difficult to get the titanium overfeed in place, but it wasn’t. Easy. Worked first time. (I’d taken a photo of the titanium overfeed’s positioning prior to disassembly, just in case.) Inked it up, and… oh, my, goodness. Immediate joy. Better than anticipated in every way. Finished better than I had hoped for, wrote wider than anticipated, could write finer than anticipated, and was housed in a modern pen body I was already familiar with that could easily and affordably be replaced.

Is anyone else defeated by the small increase of noddlers' Ahab and Konrad. Looks like they're going up three dollars or so. Hate to be suspiciously minded but I feel like this is how it begins. Slowly the prices of goods increase, but in small incremental amounts. At first everyone shrugs and goes along with it. Then a little while later another increase under a similarly auspicious ruse.

Hello! I've purchased a Noodler's Konrad a while ago, and although it's a great writer (smooth and well balanced in my hand), I find it to be extremely wet. I've tried maximizing the distance between the tip of the feed and the tip of the nib, with no palpable results. I must mention that I've only user Pelikan Blue Black with this pen, which is a rather dry ink. Also, I'm not interested in flex writing with this pen; I enjoy the slight line variation that I get with normal writing, but it is quite enough for me. What else could I do? I haven't modified the feed itself in any way (cutting new channels etc). Thank you. Cheers.

After tweeking and messing around with my numerous Noodler pens for far to long, I have finally found the issue with them that causes ink to be found in the cap, and fixed it!!!! So the issue is that some of the feeds used in these pens have feeds that are too narrow which allows ink to pool on the barrel wall and eventually drip out. After trying heat setting and other not very useful methods, I found the simplest and easiest way to elevate this issue. TEFLON TAPE. You take some of the Teflon tape, and wrap it around the feed (without the nib on it) once or twice, align the nib with the feed (now widened with the Teflon Tape) and refit in the barrel. This solution literally costs pennies and works great. After trying this with a variety of pens with this issue, for a bit of time, I have experienced no flow issue and NO DRIPS. I have been using my Ahab with the refitted feed for months now and no issues at all and I was able to remove the Teflon Tape after months of used with ease and reapply some tape after some thorough cleaning of them pen. Do be careful that you don't add to much tape, making the feed to wide and possible cracking the barrel (don't force it to much). Hope this helps. Cheers, Shawn

I have a very special Konrad in the two-blued marbled marianas acrylic coming and I'd like to give it its first trial run with a matching sheeny ink in the blue to aqua ranges. Any favourites you'd like to recommend? (The sheeny thread doesn't always show the 'normal' colour of inks as the shots are generally angled to capture the sheen.)

Note: I changed my story a bit in light of new evidence that Noodler's pens aren't made in America like I assumed. You know what they say about assuming... It's no secret that Nathan Tardif, mastermind behind Noodler's pens and inks, is a patriot. In fact, I have an idea that the Henry Repeating Arms Company may have actually stolen Nathan's original idea for a company slogan some years ago; "It will be made in America, or it won't be made at all." His videos often contain heavy political underto... Oh who am I kidding. They're not undertones. He just comes right out and says it. Even his ink names suggest his disdain for the way our country is run. So, you can imagine the disappointment he'd have in me if he knew what I had done to one of his American-made pens designed and inspected here in America. A couple of years ago when I was still new to fountain pens, I found some images or videos of flex writing and said to myself, "I want to write like that!" So... Rather than reading a book or taking a class or practicing, my initial thought was, "Get one of those flexy pens so you can write like that!" Ask me how that worked out with golf clubs, guitars and RC planes. I'll save you the trouble and just say that I'm no Tiger Woods or John Mayer and I sure as heck can't keep a plane in the air. Although quadcopters are my thing... GPS-enabled, can't-crash-me, quadcopters... Glorious little things, they are! That's beside the point though. My point is, I had a flexy Noodler's Konrad. And Ahab. And Creaper. A couple of each, probably. One day, one of my Konrads broke. I think the filling mechanism snapped or something. I don't really remember, but I do remember just throwing the whole thing in the trash and thinking, "To heck with this... I'll just go back to my extra-fine nails and never write flexy again! HUMPH!" Then, I quickly grabbed the broken pen from the trash and removed the nib and feed for salvage. I figured the nib would come in handy if I ever messed up the nib in an Ahab or my other Konrad. Fast forward a couple of years and I have a little parts bin with nibs and feeds and collars. I was digging through said parts bin yesterday to put together a nib, feed and collar for a fellow FPNer and stumbled on that Noodler's nib. I also stumbled on a long-forgotten Jinhao X750 whose nib was a terribly mushy, wet, mess. I did love the shape and weight of the pen though so, naturally, it went into the parts bin with the thought that I might make something of it someday. I looked at the Noodler's nib and then looked at the Jinhao. Back at the nib. Back at the Jinhao. Back at the n... You get the idea. I thought, "Hm... The X750 uses a No. 6 nib and the Noodler's Konrad and Ahab use a No. 6 nib. And I've got these assorted feeds. I wonder..." Yep. I went and fitted Nathan Tardif's American-made steel flexy nib into a Chinese-made Jinhao X750 and did it all with the assistance of some feed that I got from God-knows-where. Oh... And there's an International Converter in there that I salvaged from a Monteverde pen at some point. So, it's a Frankenpen. And... IT'S ALIVE! It works wonderfully! I've never enjoyed a Chinese-made pen OR a Noodler's nib more in all my years of fountain pen writing. Not my Heroes, not my Jinhaos, certainly not my Ahabs... It's like the perfect pen. The feed keeps up. There's no tinkering or adjusting. It just bloody works! So... without further ado, feast your eyes on the Noohao! or Jindlers (although that's awfully close to Schindler which carries a completely different kind of anti-American connotation, but is one of the greatest films ever made; I digress). Either way... Here's the little matte black abomination (please pardon my TERRIBLE handwriting... You can see I still haven't gotten around to the practice part yet): http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/12011697455_95231e2e75_b.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/12012518496_a4069b990d_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7323/12012057084_48213b42e6_b.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5506/12012056234_8a2ba1e3c1_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/12011687875_3b1247b5c3_b.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3722/12011698495_e366f71887_h.jpg So yeah... Long live the Noohao! Also... pardon the gunk on the image. My paper had some ink splats from somewhere else. It's ugly, I know, but I had hoped it would detract from the handwriting.

Hello everyone, I was told to move my mod over here to discuss it. It is a Noodler's Konrad with a Hunt 56 nib in it. I had to heat set the feed for it and I may have accidentally heat up the grip section during the feed setting but I did squeeze that as well just in case. I say that the grip section may have been set as well because after the mod it appears not to be able to close in the cap as smoothly. That being said, I am very pleased with my work and I tried a few nibs but this one worked the best for this configuration.It flows well and you can see one railroad but I was going pretty fast and trying to go to bed. So these aren't the best pictures but if you guys are interested I can post more detailed photos later or a video to Youtube if anyone really cares. I just don't want to put a lot of effort in if you guys don't care about modding your Konrads. I haven't had any starting issues with the pen and it does not railroad under normal writing conditions. The ink is Noodler's X-Feather and the paper is G. LALO.

So I've recently heard that normal noodler pens (made from vegetal resin) have the tendency to disintegrate with expose to ink or water. I personally love all noodler products, and own a bunch and would be pretty concerned if this was tue. That being said is there any validity to these claims?

This may seem like an odd request, but I've been thinking about this for a while now. So, the first time I bought a Noodler's Konrad, I was stunned at how perfectly it fitted my hand...Although the Lamy 2000 is my favorite pen (due to various reasons), the Konrad is still the better shaped pen for me. That being said, do you know pens with the same size/shape as the Noodler's Konrad? (not the Ebonite or Acrylic...those are longer) Cheers

I'm considering getting a Noodler's Konrad as well as a 1.1 stub black Monteverde #6 nib. Have you tried to put a Montverde nib on a Noodler's Konrad? Does it work very well? Does it sit far down into the section like the Goulet nib? thanks.